The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Vaccination passport, health certificate ... the new lexicon of travel in the time of Covid-19

2021-03-05T17:25:34.837Z


What is the difference between a vaccination passport, a health passport and a vaccination certificate? We are helping you to see more clearly in these documents which could govern travel as of this spring.


Innovations are multiplying to allow travel to resume.

Digital health passport, vaccination certificate, green passport ... many of these tools to prove that a person is vaccinated against Covid-19 have similar semantics.

Among these novelties, the vaccine passport, a pass reserved for tourists who have received the double dose, is the subject of heated debate.

At this point, around 6.5% of EU citizens over the age of 18 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, a rate slightly higher than in France, which stands at 5.6%, according to the European Center for disease prevention and control (ECDC).

Contemptors of the vaccine passport warn about the protection of personal data, or the risk of discrimination against the unvaccinated.

Its zealots, the tourist countries of southern Europe in the lead, see it as an opportunity to start the tourist recovery for the summer holidays.

The European Union is trying to coordinate the initiatives, and is due to present a legislative proposal on the subject on March 17.

Here is a lexicon to understand the logic of these tools which will become essential in the medium term.

Read also: Tourism: Greece bets on the vaccine to save its summer

Vaccination certificate

This is a document that can be used to prove that a person has received one or two doses of the vaccine.

In France, each vaccinated patient can make a request to his doctor, who gives him the document signed by his hand.

Between two injections, the professional can provide a certificate of the first injection, but it does not constitute a full vaccination certificate.

This vaccination certificate does not confer any particular right.

It becomes a “vaccine passport” when it acts as a passport to enter certain places (restaurant, museum, etc.), which is not the case in France.

The French vaccination certificate can however be useful for traveling to certain countries.

As in the Seychelles, where the entry filter is in effect until March 25, or in Iceland where vaccinated tourists will be able to enter and travel without restrictions from May 1.

Read also: Covid-19: vaccinated tourists will travel to Iceland without restrictions

Vaccination passport

This is a vaccination certificate to which is attached the right to go to places such as restaurants, museums ... and even to enter certain countries.

The rights it confers depend on the legislation of each state.

For the moment, France says it is opposed to the idea of ​​a vaccination passport in the strict sense.

"Making the right to travel subject to vaccination would discriminate against unvaccinated people

,

"

said Secretary of State for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne in an interview with

Le Figaro

.

A position repeated since.

According to the president of Paris Airport, Augustin de Romanet, this expression poses a problem.

"It creates confusion between a proof of identity and to which rights are attached, which fall under the prerogative of the public power, and an act which notes facts of a medical nature"

, he affirmed to

Le Figaro

.

Read also: The vaccine, the new sesame for travel?

Digital health passport

Also called a digital health certificate, it is a digital medium that gathers the health information of its bearer: PCR or antigen tests, previous Covid-19 contaminations inducing the presence of antibodies, or even a vaccination certificate.

It could therefore be one of the elements helping the introduction of the vaccination passport in the countries which so wish.

"

With a unique medium that integrates health data, we will be able to know, by scanning a QR code very easily, in which country we have the right to travel"

, supports the president of Travel Companies, Jean-Pierre Mas.

Several mobile applications are in development.

The ICC AOKpass, developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in partnership with SGS and International SOS will soon be tested by Air France on flights between Paris and the Antilles.

For its part, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) is developing an application called Travel Pass.

Eighteen companies, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, have signed usage protocols.

Read also: Health passport: which airlines will be offering their “Travel Pass” from the end of March?

Green passport

This is the name of the vaccine passport in Israel.

The document can be downloaded upon receipt of an email from the Ministry of Health received one week after the second injection of the Pfizer vaccine.

It gives access to cultural events, museums, indoor tables in restaurants, swimming pools, sports halls, as well as countries with which Israel has an agreement.

There are two at the moment: Greece and Cyprus.

Vaccinated tourists will be able to travel without restriction from one country to another.

Read also: Covid-19: with the green passport, Israel is gradually coming back to life

Green digital certificate (Digital Green Pass)

It is a legislative proposal that will be presented on March 17 by the European Commission to "

gradually allow Europeans to move safely within the EU or outside, for work or tourism

", announced on March 1 on Twitter the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The president had mentioned on February 25 the creation of a platform that would connect the different national solutions.

The challenge is to ensure that each Member State can recognize the documents produced by its European neighbors, while respecting the protection of personal data.

This would concern the vaccination certificate, but also the test results or proof of a previous contamination.

This “digital green pass” could take several forms still under study, from a simple document to a QR code, including a digital health passport-type application.

See also -

Emmanuel Macron in favor of

"common medical certification"

in Europe:

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-03-05

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.